GM Europe Chief Engineer Karl-Friedrich Stracke will take over the long-troubled subsidiary in January.
General Motors will shake up its top European management as the long-troubled subsidiary finally claws its way back into the black.
In a significant move underscoring the role of product in the long-awaited turnaround, GM has named former chief engineer Karl-Friedrich Stracke to become president of GM Europe, succeeding Nick Reilly, who will be retiring.
If anything, the 61-year-old Brit will be sent off with honors after 37 years with GM. Reilly has served as something of a turnaround specialist at GM during the course of his long career, and has been credited with significant improvements in operations including not just Europe but the former GMDAT, the Korean subsidiary recently renamed Chevrolet.
“Nick Reilly has answered the call for GM at every turn,” said GM Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson. “He returned to Europe and successfully led the turnaround of our operations there during one of the most tumultuous times in our company’s history.”
Nick Reilly gets GM Europe back in the black and heads off into the sunset.
Reilly spent eight years in various Asian markets before rushing to the rescue in Europe. GM has run up billions of dollars in losses on the Continent over the last decade and gave serious thought to selling a majority stake in the struggling Opel brand after the U.S. giant emerged from bankruptcy in 2009.
It eventually decided to hang onto the subsidiary but has undertaken a variety of steps to reduce Opel losses – including putting more of an emphasis on the Chevrolet brand, now the fastest-growing marque in Europe.
GM Europe broke a string of 11 straight quarterly losses this year, breaking even during the first quarter and posting a modest profit in the second. Reilly has promised the company will be back in the black for all of 2012.
As for Stracke, he will face a series of challenges. Most importantly, he will need too maintain GM’s newfound European momentum at a time when much of the Continent is in financial trouble, with several key members of the so-called Eurozone – notably including Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Ireland – are threatened with default on their overwhelming debt.
The 55-year-old Stracke, who will take over as president on January 1, will also have to continue the revival of Opel, long viewed as one of Europe’s stodgiest brands, while also helping build up Chevrolet, which is largely focusing on the lower end of the Continental market.
Stracke was assigned to Detroit, where he served as vice president of Global Vehicle Engineering, until last March, when he returned to his native Germany.